The Biggest Secret of All
by everfaraway
Summary: Nobody really knows the truth behind Clint & Tasha's relationship or how deep that relationship goes, except for Coulson who is now dead. But the two former SHIELD agents are feeling sentimental & are willing to trust their new team mates with the biggest secret they've kept for years. It's not something the Avengers are expecting either. R&R. Trying to keep all in character.
1. Sentimental

Sentimental

**_Author: After rewatching Avenger's vids again & again, being sick & helping my bf pack, I've  
_****_finished this story which I had started a while back. Wacky idea that got into my head. I__ own_**_  
_**_I own nobody I just play with them. Far too much probably. R&R_**

**_Another language_**

_Thoughts/Silent conversations_

Maybe it was the exhaustion that was still wearing on them or all the children they had seen crying on the streets after the attack on New York, but it had left them both feeling somewhat sentimental.

"How's the cuts Barton?" Steve asked, setting his duffle bag down beside the couch. He still looked tired and roughed up but he was alive. Surprisingly the whole team made it out alive.

"Healing up pretty well." Clint said, glancing at Tasha who was snipping away at the stitches holding one of the worst cuts together.

"This one will need more time. But not stitches." She said, dropping the stitches into the bowl balanced on the back of the couch next to Clint's shoulder.

"Good."

"How are you Captain?" Tasha asked, pressing gauze to the newly reopened cut. Clint set his hand on top of hers and gave her fingers a squeeze.

"Friends!" a voice bellowed, causing them both to jump. Tasha reached for her gun as she looked towards the door.

"Look what I found on the roof." Tony laughed.

"Welcome back Thor." Clint said, glancing up at Tasha.

"How are you friend Barton?" Thor asked, coming over to greet them.

"Healing." He said.

"And you fair maiden?"

"Doing well." Tasha said, taping a piece of gauze down. Her fingers lingered on Clint's shoulder a moment longer than normal. Clint's eyes went up to her and she smiled.

"So what 's going on between you two?" Tony asked.

"Agents Barton have been married for… how long now?"

"I kept my last name so it's Agent Romanoff Agent Hill." Natasha said coolly

"What do you want Maria?" Clint asked, getting to his feet. One of Tasha's arms went around his waist possessively.

"I was sent here by Fury to tell you two not to expect any missions anytime soon. You're to remain here with the rest of the Avengers until Fury says otherwise." Hill said, ignoring Black Widow.

"That's all?" Clint asked calmly, squeezing Tasha's hand.

Maria reached into her pocket and pulled out a small leather pouch. "These were in Agent Coulson's breast pocket. We found a note on his computer asking that it be returned to you two." She said, holding out the pouch.

Clint didn't reach forward to take the pouch, feeling the pain of Coulson's death again. "Thank you Maria." Tasha whispered, taking the pouch from the other female agent.

"Take care of him." Maria whispered, looking at Clint. His storm colored eyes were wet and glassy.

"I will." Natasha promised, pulling her archer towards the couch.

"_**Why?" **_he whispered, dropping down on the couch.

"_**I'm sorry…"**_ she began, kneeling down in front of him.

"_**Why did it have to be Phil?"**_ he asked.

Tasha pulled his head down onto her shoulder, stroking his hair gently. _**"Shh. Shh. I know it hurts." **_ She told him, kissing his cheek. Unbidden, a memory from their past emerged in her mind.

"_Natasha you sure we can trust these people?"_

"_They are good people Clint."_

"_But Tasha.."_

"_Our lives are too dangerous to raise a child. Xavier has given me his word that she will be safe there."_

_Clint dropped his head, resting his head against his wife's hands. Tears slid down his face and she lowered her nose into his hair._

"Agent Coulson died a warrior's death, friend archer. We shall honor him by continuing to fight whatever evils threaten Midgard." Thor said, dropping a heavy hand on each of their shoulders.

Clint chuckled and said, "You got a point Thor." He lifted his head from Tasha's shoulder, who rocked back on her heels.

"Who do we get to look after these now?" Tasha asked Clint, shaking two white gold bands into her hand from the pouch.

"You are betrothed are you not?" Thor asked.

"For six years yeah." Clint told him.

"In Asgard custom says that bride and groom must always wear the gifts they exchanged on their wedding day. For the bride it is a necklace or ring that the groom made for her. For the groom it a symbol of his wife's favor." Thor said.

"On Earth it's a pair of rings." Tasha said.

"Yeah but that's how the "custom" works on the West Coast." Tony smirked.

"Hasn't changed since my time." Steve agreed.

"Works everywhere I've been." Bruce piped up.

"_**I think we're outnumbered baby." **_Clint smirked.

"_**For now." **_ Tasha told him.

Clint smiled, kissed her hand and whispered, _**"Don't kill anyone."**_

"So was Fury the priest? Can he marry people? I mean… does being a top member of SHIELD give him that right or power?" Tony asked.

"No, Fury was not the priest. And as far as we know, no he doesn't." Tasha smirked.

"So since we have the whole you-two-being married thing down, want to tell us what led up to that?" Tony asked.

"Yes friends. Tell us your tale." Thor encouraged them.

Clint glanced back at Natasha, eyes full of inquiry. He would tell the other Avengers their story but not without her permission. "Do you trust them?" he asked with his eyes as he squeezed her hand.

She glanced at Steve, Bruce, Thor and Tony. _"Steve and Banner: I like. Thor I do trust. Tony I can't stand." _She told him with a slight shrug and a turn of her head.

"_Yeah I figured that. Tony is a dumbass."_ He agreed with a smirk.

"_Shut up." _ Her eyes sparkled and she playfully slapped him.

"_Can I tell them our story?" _he asked with a small smile.

She glanced at each of their new "team-mates" before she nodded. _"Tell them… as long as it doesn't leave this tower."_


	2. The Night He Almost Died

The Night He Almost Died

**_Author: Half a pack of cigarettes, who knows how many sodas, a bag of licorice, a full season of Doctor Who, several  
_****_distractions & an annoying laptop later I finally finished this chapter. Thank you to my three reviewers so far. The first  
_****_little bit with Tasha & Clint reminds me so much of me & Greylin. Warnings for: cigarettes, alcohol, language, murder,  
_****_mentions of drugs & attempted suicide. I promise I am not gonna kill the Avengers. Nor do I own them._**

**_Another language_**

_Silent conversation_

Clint pulled a cigarette out of the pack and turned it towards his wife in a silent offer._ "Want one?"_ he asked with a glance at her.

_"Maybe later."_ she shrugged pulling a lighter from her jacket pocket. It was a simple black lighter that he had drawn a red hourglass on late one night on a whim.

_"Thanks."_ he said, winking at her as he flicked the lighter. The smoke stung the back of his throat as he inhaled deeply. The room lit up with lightning and Banner glanced up.

"Is the storm your doing Thor?" the doctor asked, nodding to the rain that was pouring outside. It hit the glass with such force that it was no surprise Banner thought Thor had a hand in it.

"It is not my doing friends." Thor assured them. Tasha tilted her head to look past Thor as Clint got up to to look out at the storm. Nights like this one had never set well with Clint.

"When I was twenty one SHIELD "recruited" me. I was holed up in a shitty little hotel on a night like this one. No A/C, no heating, cockroaches in the bathroom and leaks in the roof. I was sitting on the bathroom counter with the barrel of the a Baretta in my mouth... trying to work up the balls to pull the trigger." Clint whispered. Thor cocked his head as Bruce's head jerked up and Steve's eyes widened. Tasha lowered her head silently, having heard her husband's story before.

"Why?" Tony asked, opening a bottle of Jack Daniels.

"I was tricked into killing a good man. My informant lied to me. My targets, a drug dealer who specialized in selling to children, was two blocks west... doing a deal that later resulted in three kids dead. If I had trusted my instincts those kids would have lived." he admitted.

"Where?" Bruce asked. The story sounded slightly familiar.

"Calcutta. I don't go back if I can help it." the archer whispered.

"That was two decades ago." Bruce whispered. He had read about the incident in a paper in one of the libraries in the better part of the Calcutta. The fact that it had been an arrow not a bullet that had killed the victim had struck him as odd... but he had not considered that the murder could have been Clint. And if what the archer claimed was true, then he was much older than he seemed.

Clint shrugged and muttered something in a language nobody recognized except Natasha. **_"Clint."_** she whispered. It only took his name being called in her native language to draw him back to her these days. He sat down beside her, tapping his cigarette on the side of the ashtray. She squeezed his free hand gently before she began tracing the scars on his arms with a feather light touch.

*Flash Back*

"Do it damn it. You're gonna go to a special level of hell either way. Might as well fork over your soul to the devil now rather than later." Clint thought, trying to calm his shaking hands. His breath had already begun to warm the barrel of the Baretta even though the rest of the gun, like his body, was cold. He drew a quick breath, squeezed his eyes shut and pulled the trigger. Thunder echoed in his ears and he waited for the pain or just darkness to take him. After a moment, neither came. It took him a moment longer to realize that at the very moment he had pulled the trigger thunder had boomed, curtisy of the storm sitting above him. He pulled the trigger twice more, only to hear the click of an empty barrel before he flung the gun at the wall. It clattered to the floor and he dug through his bag, looking for a razor blade or anything he could use to put himself out of his misery.

"Are you that eager to die son?" a voice asked from the darkened room behind him.

"Three kids and a good man are dead because of me!" he sobbed, resting his forehead against the counter's edge as he slid to the floor.

A figure stepped into the light and it took Clint a moment to realize the man was not a figment of his guilt crazed imagination. The man was dressed in all black: boots, trenchcoat, body suit and what appeared to be bulletproof armor. His left eye was covered in an eyepatch and the scars around it looked semi new, probably little more than a few months old. "Do you want a chance to redeem yourself?" he asked. The man's voice was flat but held a little emotion, sympathy or pity perhaps. Clint didn't care or even want to know he decided as the man crouched beside him.

"You can't redeem yourself after what I've done." he whispered.

The man pulled a slender black roll of fabric from his boot and unraveled it. Inside was a small plastic bottle and a needle. "This will help you sleep." the other man explained, preparing the needle with ease. Clint didn't flinch when the needle tip broke his skin or when whatever was in that needle flooded his veins like liquid heat. "Listen to me Clint Barton. I am going to leave you an address. If you change your mind about being able to redeem yourself be at the address at three fifteen pm tommarow." he said gently.

"Who are you?" Clint murmured.

"Nick Fury. And I work for an organization that can erase the live you were so willing to end and give you a new one."

As the younger man's eyes slid shut Nick Fury got to his feet quietly. The drug had taken effect quickly as he had been assured it would. He picked up the Baretta that Barton had flung to the floor and pulled it magazine from his pocket. He hadn't come all the way to Calcutta to watch him kill himself... not when he had high hopes for him. He set the Baretta on the counter where it's owner would find it in the morning and as he had said he would, jotted down an address and the time "3:15" on a scrap piece of paper. Once he was sure the paper was safe under the gun he left the hotel room as silently as he had entered it. The rain would wash away his tracks and keep him from being seen.

_**Author: Now that this is done I'm gonna go have a fucking cigarette.**_


	3. Shoot to Thrill

Shoot To Thrill

_**Author: I don't know where inspiration for "young" Clint Barton is coming from honestly. Though I'm having  
**_**_way too much with him. Warning for language, murder & Hawkeye being an asshole. I own nobody._**

**__**_Thoughts_

Clint groaned quietly and pushed himself off the bathroom floor. _"Fucking rainstorms and leaky roofs." _he grumbled silently, glaring at the puddle on the floor that his right leg had been resting in. "What the fuck did he knock me out with?" he muttered, pulling another pair of jeans from his duffle bag. There were no side effects from it that he could feel though he wasn't in a bad enough mood to complain about a good night sleep, even if it was forced. "If all else fails I might be able to kick his ass and escape." He decided reading over the note that was left for him by the sink.

At three pm Clint left himself onto the roof of a four story building near the edge of the slums. His eyes flicked over the landscape, noting that he was only a few block south east of where he had set up the day before. "You're early. Good." a familiar voice called from nearby.

"Nick Fury? Right?" he asked, setting his duffle bag on the cement. Not taking his eyes of the other man, he slipped the gig bag from his back. Inside was his quiver and recurve bow.

"That's right. I have a job for you." Fury told him.

"What kind of job?" Clint asked cautiously.

Fury handed him a picture and said, "This is the drug dealer who was responsible for the deaths of three children yesterday and the man with him is his brother. They will be coming by here at 3:15."

"The brother is my informant." Clint whispered.

"Was." Fury corrected him.

"You want me to kill them." It was not a question but a statement.

"I just want you to do the job you didn't do yesterday. If the brother dies then someone knew he was behind the murder of Chancellor Ajact yesterday and decided they wanted revenge." Fury said simply.

Ten minutes later Clint was perched on the edge of the roof. Gone was the grief stricken man who had attempted to take his life the night before. "Nobody will look into their deaths?" he confirmed as the fletching of his arrow tickled his cheek.

"The local authorities will put them down as the work of a rival drug dealer or a good Samaritan." Fury assured him.

"Works for me." Clint murmured as the brothers came into sight. He took a second to aim: drug dealer, back of the head, into the skull and possibly out the forehead. He would be dead before he hit the ground. And he was.

By the time the body crumpled to the ground, Clint had pulled a second arrow from his quiver and notched it. "Don't think you're gonna get to run." He whispered as the other brother turned to make a retreat. The second arrow pierced his spinal cord, severing it and paralyzing him.

"He'll bleed out before anyone can help him." Clint told Fury as he put the quiver and bow back into his bag.

"I'm impressed." Fury said.

"Don't be." Clint muttered

"Why?" Fury inquired

"The man who killed those two men is dead." Barton said.

"Fair enough. Welcome to the Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-Enforcement Division." Fury told him.

"How much do you get paid to say that?" Clint asked as he headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Fury asked, pulling out his cell phone.

"To take a piss. You wanna come shake it for me?" Clint smirked.

Fury bit back a retort but instead settled for glaring at the archer's retreating back as the phone began to ring.

"Yes sir?" a male voiced asked.

"I have your charge." Fury said.

"The archer?"

"Unless there's another one I'm unaware of."

"No sir. Where did you find him?"

"Calcutta."

"What was he doing there?" the other man asked.

"Trying to kill himself." Fury sighed.

There was a groan and the voice on the other end asked, "What is he like?"

"Young, arrogant, smart assed but dangerous." Fury told him.

"That's about the same as what you said about me." The other man chuckled.

"Except you're better behaved." Fury said, looking down into the alley below. "Add loud, disrespectful and far from tone deaf to that list Coulson."

"If you don't mind me asked… why?" Coulson asked, very confused.

"Because your charge is standing in the alley, singing Don McLean's "American Pie" at the top of his lungs and he appears to be pissing on the bodies of two men he just killed."

There was a moment of silence before Coulson burst out laughing. Fury rolled his eyes and pulled his gun from it's holster at his right thigh. A few seconds later a bullet embedded itself in the ground next to Clint's boot. "Barton!" he shouted.

"Yes… sir?" Clint called hesitantly.

"Finish taking your piss and get your ass up here. Or I will shoot you in the ass." Fury commanded.

"That would be counter productive… wouldn't it?" Clint asked.

"Shall we find out?"

"Um… no."


	4. Love Isn't Just for Children

Love Isn't Just for Children

**_Author: 7 reviews, 20 favorites & 42 follows wow. Ty everyone. This chapter's not as exciting as_ earlier  
****_ones but I tried. I own nobody except Illyana. If Fury is out of character sorry._**

**_Another__ language___**

Emphasis 

_Thoughts_

Clint paused in his story and got up to pour himself a drink as Tony burst out laughing. "Fury threatened to shoot you in the ass for standing in an alley, taking a piss and singing!?" the billionare giggled.

"According to him: "It's the perfect way to make sure everyone knows you're there." Clint said, mimicing Fury's tone.

"It was then and is still. Which is why you were banned from singing while on missions years ago."

All heads turned towards the door where Fury stood. "Jarvis!" Tony shouted. There was no response from the AI system. "Do all SHIELD agents know how to hack my systems?" the billionare demanded, pulling up a 3D screen.

"Yes." Clint, Tasha and Fury said in unison. Tasha moved over on the couch so Fury could sit down.

"You want something boss?" Clint asked.

"Anything will do. How are you two holding up?" Fury asked them.

"We're managing." Tasha said, getting up to go to the bar. Clint handed her a glass of Vodka and grabbed two glasses of Whiskey.

"Nice of you to stop in and check on us Fury." Tony smirked watching Clint and Tasha join their boss on the sofa. Clint passed one of the whiskeys over Tasha's shoulder to Fury.

"I didn't come here for you Stark. I came here to check on Agents Barton and Romanoff." Fury said taking a drink from his glass.

"So he does have a heart. Next you two will be telling us you have a kid." Tony smirked.

Clint and Tasha said nothing as Tasha took a pair of cigarettes from the pack and lit them. Clint smiled as he took one from her, tasting her lipstick on it. She winked at him lovingly.

"I would have brought your rings myself but I was in a meeting with the council... taking them out of arresting and imprisoning Clint." Fury said, glancing over the archer.

"What the fuck for?" Clint demanded looking past his wife to his boss.

"Treason, murder, aiding an alien invader in waging war on Earth..."

"I was under that bastard's control!" Clint snapped. Tasha turned and grabbed his arm to attempt to keep him seated. His muscles were dangerously tense under her touch.

"They aren't convinced that you won't turn on them again." Fury said.

"So imprisoning me is a **good **idea? I would be able to kill every guard in the area and break out." Clint smirked evilly.

"I made them aware of that." Fury assured him.

"He is a hero! He helped save the world from the Chitauri!" Rogers protested, getting up.

"Imprisonment is no way to treat a warrior!" Thor bellowed, turning on Fury.

"That is why I convinced them to let you leave." the SHIELD leader told him.

"Let me leave? They want me out?" Clint asked in shock, almost choking on his whiskey.

"No they want you in jail. Or dead." Fury reminded him.

"They're just letting him go?" Tasha asked.

"Provided he does not interfere in SHIELD matters and has no contact with SHIELD agents **ever**_._"

Clint's eyes went to Natasha then he turned his gaze to Fury. "She's out too." he growled.

"You are not in a position to make demands." Fury told him, getting up to pull rank.

Clint got to his feet; this time Tasha didn't try to keep him down. There were a few inches of height difference between the two men with Fury being the taller of the two. "Nick there are only two members of SHIELD that I give a damn about anymore. One is dead now and I am married to the other." he growled.

"I know why you and Agent Romanoff go married Barton. It was more for the convience of..." Fury began.

"Don't! Leave her out of this. It's not just about that anymore." Barton snarled, blinking rapidly. Tasha reconized it as his personal tell that his eyes hurt.

"_**Clint."**_ she whispered, turning his head gently to look at her. His eyes were bloodshot and an eerie shade of grey. _**"Clint your contacts."**_ she told him.

"_**Just throw them away. I'm tired of wearing them." **_he told her, putting a pair of contacts in her hand. The deep blue coloring stood out on her bare palm.

"Tell me Agent Romanoff: is it true what you told Loki? That love is for children and that you owe Barton a debt?" Fury asked.

Clint turned to look at Tasha. Without his contacts in everyone in the room could see that his eyes were a dark shade of hazel that seemed to glow. "Natasha?" he whispered.

"I'm a spy. It's what I'm good at. I lie and I mislead people. I said that to Loki to keep him from knowing what I was really doing there in that room: trying to get information." Tasha said.

"Loki got into my head good. He picked my brain apart. He knew almost everything. He called your lie because he knew he could. I managed to keep a few things from him. He knew about us but not about Illyana." he whispered.

"Fury does she know? Coulson was her godfather." Tasha demanded turning to Fury.

"We haven't been able to locate her. No doubt after the attack and all the footage of you two she will come looking for you." he told them.

"You are not to recruit her. Under. Any. Circumstance." Clint snarled fixing his eerie gaze on Fury.

"And she knows better than to seek you out." Tasha added.

"Agent Romanoff..." Fury began.

"Consider this my resignation." she said, peeling off her jacket with a SHIELD emblem on the back. She set it in a duffle bag and handed it to Fury. "Both of our uniforms, ID's, computers and weapons."

"All of it?" Fury asked.

"We can replace it all easily." she assured him.

"I figured you would defect." Fury told her.

"We married for convience. But we fell in love and have stayed together." Tasha said as Clint slid an arm around her waist and rested his nose in her hair.

"_**Let's head to the bedroom. I don't feel like being socialable anymore tonight."**_ he whispered.

"_**Come on and I'll give you a massage."**_ she told him.

Clint grinned wickedly and said, "See you guys tommarow. We're going to bed."

"Good night." their team mates called as they left, speaking in a rich, sultry language that none of them could even begin understand.

Fury snatched up the duffle bag and left the same way he had come in.

"Jarvis!" Tony called.

"Yes sir?"

"You're fired."


	5. Hello?

"Hello?"

**_Author: I've been needing an ending for this for a while now & the latest episode of Walking Dead gave me  
a great idea for one. T-Dog is dead, Carol is missing & Daryl has proven to be great with kids. Ty to all who  
reviewed, faved, followed, etc.. Sorry to make you wait so long. Working now so busy. Sexual hints & language._**

_Another language/Thoughts  
**Ringtone**_

Clint blinked slowly and rolled over to bury his face in Tasha's hair. It was early, just before dawn if his internal clock was correct. He nuzzled the back of her neck and whispered, "Morning."

"What time is it?" she murmured sleepily.

"Close to dawn. So between six and seven probably." he told her. She reached up and grabbed one of their phones, which read six fourty eight.

"Are you getting up?" she yawned.

"Yeah. Go back to bed okay? If you're not up by seven thirty I'll come get you." he whispered, kissing her shoulder gently.

"Love you." she muttered, tensing as she said it. Clint smiled and kissed her neck in the place that he knew relaxed her. They were not big on "I love you"s but that was fine by them.

Quietly he dressed and headed out to the patio off the penthouse living room. It looked as though the gateway had never been set up there. He had only been leaning up against the railing a few minutes when the door opened behind him. The hair on the back of his neck rose but he didn't tense. His fingertips brushed the butt of the gun in his waistband.

"Morning Mr. Barton."

"Mornin' Dr. Banner." he said, glancing over his shoulder. Sleep made his voice thick and allowed his mid west accent to leak into his words. It was too early for him to really care.

"Coffee?" the doctor asked, nudging him gently... cautiously.

"Thanks." Clint said, taking the mug from him. It was a little too warm but on a cooler morning like that one it was perfect. He took a sip and they settled into comfortable silence as Bruce leaned against the railing beside him.

"Were your eyes that shade of hazel when you were born?" the doctor asked softly after about five minutes of silence as they watched the city come alive around them.

"No they were actually more brown than gold until I was about twelve or so. My family was killed in a car accident and I was in a coma for two weeks. When I came out of it my eyes were like this. As I grew up my eyesight changed too, getting to the point that I can see better at a distance than I can up close." Clint told him.

"Do you have 20/20 up close?" Bruce asked. Clint could hear curiousity in his voice.

"Only outside of my periphiral. My periphiral... I can't see shit. Not right now anyways. The contacts I took out last night..." he began.

"Are specially made to cover his eye color and help his periphiral vision. Even then it's not 20/20. That's why I fly with him."

Both men turned towards the door where Natasha stood, still half asleep. "Couldn't get back to sleep?" Clint asked, extending an arm to wrap around her.

"My heater ran away." she whispered, sliding up against him and taking his coffee mug. Her eyes flicked over to Bruce and she said, "Morning Dr. Banner."

"Good morning Mrs. Romanoff." he said, looking her over. She had on a black low cut cat suit much like the one she wore during the fight but this one was made more for comfort than durability. She had not pulled on a shirt over it to fight the early morning chill but had pulled on a pair of sweats, probably her husband's.

"_He has his eyes on you."_ Clint whispered in Tasha's ear.

"_I know."_ she said.

"_Don't encourage him."_ he pleaded gently.

"_I won't. I promise."_ she assured him, kissing his cheek.

"Jarvis? Who else is awake right now?" Clint called as Bruce dropped his gaze.

"Only Captian Rogers and he is in the gym." Jarvis replied.

"Ask him if he would like to join us for breakfast in the penthouse kitchen and when Tony and Thor wake up, extend the offer to them." Clint told the AI.

"Yes sir."

"Come on Doc. Breakfast is on me." Clint told Banner.

Within ten minutes Steve and Thor had both joined them in the kitchen. Thor had Tasha engaged in a conversation while Steve was letting Banner look at the wound he had received from a Chitauri blaster. "You're gonna heal just fine." the doctor told him.

"Breakfast smells good." Tasha told Clint, passing her hand over the small of his back as she moved past him to get another cup of coffee.

"Where did you learn to cook Barton?" Steve asked him.

"I grew up in a traveling carnival and got stuck on food duty... a lot. Ungrateful bastards." he said bitterly. Tasha took a few steps away as his muscles tensed dangerously.

"I'm sorry I asked." Steve whispered, seeing how Clint reacted.

The archer bit down on the inside of his cheek, just hard enough to draw blood. The pain returned him to his senses. "Not your fault Cap. I've just got a few sore spots in my past." he said. His tone was still full of disdain but his eyes were calm. "Hey come here." he called gently to Tasha, who was leaning against the counter a few feet away.

"_You're kind of scary when you're pissed off." _she whispered.

"_Sorry."_ he apologized.

"_I forgive you. But I won't be in arm's reach when you're like that." _she told him.

"_I expect you to be running if I have a bow in hand." _ he reminded her.

"_Not before I try to knock you unconcious."_ she smirked. He rolled his eyes and gave her a quick squeeze before tossing another pancake onto the stack.

Tony groaned at the horrid screeching sound echoing through his room. "JARVIS! Why is my alarm going off!" he shouted, shoving a pillow over his ears.

"Ms. Potts set it." the AI said.

"Yes I did and please turn it off Jarvis." Pepper said. The screeching stopped and Tony turned to look at her with his best puppy dog eyes.

"Why?" he whimpered.

"So we wouldn't sleep all day." she said, laying down on top of him. He looked down at the oversized shirt she wore, one of his unless he was mistaken, which allowed him a wonderful view of her cleavage.

"Sir?" Jarvis asked.

Tony growled and muttered, "What Jarvis?"

"Agent Barton is cooking breakfast for everyone and has extended the offer for you to join them." the computer chirped.

"We'd love to." Pepper said, sitting up. Tony groaned softly when she rocked back just enough to tease him.

"Tell Legolas that we'll be there soon. As long as he doesn't poison me and his spidery wife doesn't kill me." he said, rolling Pepper over onto her back.

"Excuse me Mr. Barton?" Jarvis asked back in the kitchen.

"Yeah?" Clint asked, turning off the stove.

"Mr. Stark says that he and Ms. Potts will join the team for breakfast provided you do not attempt to poison him and Mrs. Romanoff does not attempt to kill him."

"I'm unarmed." Tasha said.

"I however make no promises." Clint smirked.

"Poison is a woman's weapon." Thor said, spearing at stack of pancakes for him. Steve stared at Clint and Bruce wore a smile that said he doubted the archer had actually poisoned them all.

"You three are safe either way." Tasha told them.

**_"Been there, done that messed around, I'm having fun, don't put me down, I'll never let you sweep me off my feet. This time, baby, I'll be bulletproof. This time, baby, I'll be bulletproof."_**

"That's me." Clint said, pulling his phone from his pocket. "Jarvis where is the 509 area code?" he asked.

"A majority of the central and eastern portion of Washington state." Jarvis said.

Meanwhile in the living room of an apartment above a bookstore in Yakima, Washington a young woman paced anxiously as the phone she was trying to call rang again.

"Hello?"

"Is it true? Is he dead?" she asked as she glanced back towards the hallway. A mirror in the corner caught her reflection: olive skin, high cheek bones, deep brown eyes and long glossy black hair with feathers braided in. She didn't look any older than twenty.

"Who is this?"

The young woman spun at the sound of a floor board creaking and her nightgown slipped off her shoulder just a little. "Daddy. It's me." she whispered, pulling her gown up over the hawk shaped birthmark on her shoulder.

"Ivana?" a heavily accented voice called and she quickly hung up the phone.

Clint pulled the phone away from his ear, eyes full of confusion. A warmth slid through his body, wrapping around his heart tightly. It was a feeling he hadn't felt in years and he wasn't sure what to make of it.

**_Author: Clint's ringtone is Bulletproof by Family Force 5. Well covered by them. I own nobody but Ivana._**


	6. What Happens in Cairo

What Happens in Cairo

**_Author: Quick chapter because my brain wasn't working too well. Little too fried from work. I only own Zachery Stonebrook._**

"Who was that?" Tasha asked.

"I'm not sure." Clint admitted.

"_What did they say?" _she asked.

"Jarvis track the number off my cell phone. I want to know where that call came from." Clint said.

"Do you two know if Phil had a girlfriend? He told me about a cellist who had moved back to Portland before he dropped off information about the Avengers." Pepper asked as she and Tony walked in.

"Work wouldn't allow it." Tasha told her.

"Are you sure?" Pepper asked.

"Trust us." Clint assured her.

"The phone number is registered to Zachery Stonebrook. But the phone bills were paid from an account under Phillip Coulson's name." Jarvis said.

"There's your cellist from Portland." Tasha told Pepper as Clint sat down at the table. Emotions played across both former assassin's faces: pain, remembrance and even a bit of joy.

"I don't understand." Pepper said, looking at them.

"Zachery and Phil were in the military together when SHIELD recruited Phil. After he got out of the military Zachery went back to Portland where he was born, offering his home and the back rooms of his book store as safe houses for SHIELD agents." Clint whispered.

"We stayed in the book store for a few months about ten years ago for a mission. And about four years ago the four of us vacationed in Cairo to celebrate Zachery just finding out he was cured of cancer. We all got wasted that night. Clint sang, I danced, Zachery played his cello..." Tasha said, wiping at her eyes.

"And Phil went streaking through the penthouse before deciding to go skinny dipping." Clint laughed. Of course that wasn't all that had happened during the vacation in Cairo. As wasted as they all were, they had not forgotten the body shots, lap dances, stories told, etc... There were plenty of photos still floating around from that time. Most of them were with Zachery and the rest were scattered between Clint, Tasha and Phil's personal computers.

"Jarvis do a search for Zachery Stonebrook. I think it's time we visited him." Tasha said.

"I think we are past due for a visit." Clint admitted.


	7. Cellist From Portland

Cellist From Portland

**_Author: Thanks to all the reviewers, favs & followers. Yakima is a real place in Washington state but I don't know  
what it's like. I own nobody but Zachery & Illyana/Ivana. Ur welcome ahead of time for fanservice. And I do plan  
to keep two other characters who appear in this chapter around. :)_**

Clint's eyes snapped open as the Stark jet hit the ground with a soft thump. "Has anyone ever been to middle of nowhere, Washington?" Tony asked.

"It's called Yakima and no." Tasha said as she got up, stretching as she did.

"Open the hatch." Clint told the pilot as he pulled on his jacket.

"So who's leading this odd parade?" Tony joked, watching as the hatch opened in front of them.

"We are." Clint said as he, Steve and Tony walked into the belly of the plane to retrieve Clint and Steve's motorcycles along with one of Tony's cars. Tasha would ride with Clint while Bruce and Thor would ride with Tony.

Ten minutes later Tasha squeezed Clint's waist and pointed to the bookstore coming up on the left. He nodded and pulled into the parking lot. "Blackhawk Bookstore." he chuckled.

"Zachery always had a strange sense of humor." Tasha sighed.

"Lights are out." Bruce commented.

"We're not going through the front door." Clint assured him as he led the group around the back. There was a door there was secured only by a combination lock on a chain. Clint played with the lock for a moment before it opened.

"Same as in Portland?" Tasha asked.

"Yeap." he whispered, letting them all inside. The back room was dark and dusty which suggested it didn't get much cleaning these days. "Guess he quit running a safe house" the archer whispered, as his eyes adjusted to the lack of light.

"Wonder if your friend's even home." Tony muttered.

"We'll wait if he isn't." Tasha said, stepping past Clint to open the door. As they all filed into the hall they heard sniffling. "Zachery?" Tasha called softly.

"Natasha?" a voice called from another room. Tasha went quickly down the hall and disappeared around a corner. Clint moved to follow but his attention was drawn to a framed photo hanging on the wall. It's subject was laid out on the floor of a room lit by the first light of dawn. The man was shirtless which despite the half dim light showed that he was in amazing shape. There was a trail of hair running down his stomach to disappear in his low riding jeans (zipped but not buttoned) that was not quite brown or blonde but maybe somewhere in between. His hair (dark brown but looking lighter) was cut short but stuck out in all directions. Scars littered the man's chest and arms some faded but other newer looking.

"Is that you Legolas?" Tony asked, looking the archer over before turning his attention back to the photo. His ego didn't usually allow him to admit this about any man (except himself of course) but Clint was a very sexy man, especially in the photo.

"Yeah after no sleep, too much alcohol and five days without shaving." Clint admitted. He was not only sporting more stubble than he usually did in the photo but he also had his head turned to give the camera a goofy and sleepy grin.

"We were on vacation! You are allowed to go without shaving!" Tasha called.

"I go too long and then you complain!" he smirked, turning away from the picture and entering a small kitchen. Sitting at the table was a man who looked much too large for such a small room. And most certainly too large to be sitting at kitchen table crying. "Hey Stonebrook." Clint whispered, peeling off his jacket and setting on the table as if he belonged in the household.

Zachery got up and embraced Clint tightly. "You look good." Zach whispered. Tasha smiled as her husband returned the other man's embrace. Zachery and Clint were as close as blood brothers but as different as day and night. Zachery was a huge man of Brazilian and Jamaican descent with long hair he kept in a ponytail. Despite his massive size he was one of the kindest and gentlest men she had ever known. Her husband however was roughly the same height and weight as most men but he was also one of the most dangerous men in the world. Despite his sometimes playful nature he was prone to mood swings and suffered from depression at times. It amused her that two such different men could get along so well.

"How are you holding up?" Clint asked.

"Badly." he sighed. The archer cringed inwardly at the pain in the other man's voice, which was normally so much of trust, love and warmth. Pain and sadness had not place there.

"He knew how much you cared for him... even in the very end." Tasha said gently. It saddened her to see Zachery so sad and full of pain.

"What about you two?" Zachery asked, releasing Clint. Clint dropped his gaze to the ground. They had avoided the subject of Phil's murder whenever possible. But the night after their handler's funeral Tasha had hidden their weapons and allowed him to get completely plastered. At some point he had broken finally and she had held him as he let go of all his pain, sadness and rage. It had come out in the form of tears, cursing in multiple languages and finally telling her what it was like trapped in his mind by Loki.

"A day at a time." Tasha whispered, seeing Clint drop his gaze.

"I hate to interrupt but..." Tony said.

"We should have left you at the Tower." Steve muttered, glaring at Tony.

"Um... my jet." Stark reminded him.

"Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner and Thor." Tasha sighed, motioning to each of them in turn as they entered the kitchen. Thor eyed Zachery, Banner took a few steps away cautiously, Steve nodded to him and Tony looked around at the kitchen.

"Sit down somewhere and shut up." Clint growled at Tony. Somewhere else in the building a door opened which made Zachery look up.

"Stay here." Zachery whispered, rushing out of the kitchen. Clint watched him go curiously but didn't follow, honoring his friend's request.

"Can I ask one question?" Steve asked once Zachery was gone.

"He's bi and he dated Phil for a little while."Tasha told him.

"That answers my question." Steve admitted with a shrug.

"What can't I see them?" a voice protested from elsewhere in the building.

"That's who ever called me this morning." Clint whispered, looking towards the door.

"Because child your parents lead very dangerous lives." a soft and beautifully exotic voice said. Tasha raised an eyebrow at Clint curiously. They both knew that second female voice but couldn't place it to a face.

"But they're here!" the first voice said sharply. There was no accent, not audio signature of where the speaker was from.

"Yes but we don't know why." Zachery sighed.

"We're not working for SHIELD anymore!" Clint called.

"Fury let you go?!" Zachery shouted. There was surprise in his tone but it was for good reason. Usually once you were in SHIELD you were in for life.

"Long story short I had to leave! Tasha defected to stay with me!"

"So it's safe?" the first speaker asked.

"I suppose so." Zachery said. Three sets of footsteps came down a flight of stairs and Zachery stepped back into the kitchen. Tasha only had a moment to marvel in the fact that Zachery was bigger than Thor before a beautiful young woman stepped into the room. Her olive skin turned pale before their eyes as her face rounded into a heart shape. Her eyes turned green with golden flecks and her hair turned brown with an auburn sheen. The tank top she wore revealed a hawk shaped birthmark on her left shoulder. Tears flooded her eyes as she stared at Clint and Tasha.

"Mama. Daddy." she sobbed. She collided first with her mother, crying softly.

"Shh my darling shh." Natasha whispered, holding her tightly.

Clint's eyes softened as she watched Natasha and their daughter because there was no doubt in his mind that this was their daughter. The birthmark only proved it. She looked to be in her early twenties now but he remembered when she had been small enough to hold to his chest. Had it really only been six years ago? Gently he reached out and stroked her hair. It was thick but soft like Tasha's but he could feel just a little coarseness that she had inherited from him.

"She had been a genuine pleasure to care for."

Tasha looked past her daughter at the beautiful dark skinned woman standing in the doorway. Her long thick white hair was tied up in a ponytail. She was stuff of almost every man's dreams but she wore a wedding band and wanted no other man but her husband.

"Ororo." Tasha said as her daughter released her and stepped into Clint's arm.

"You look so much like your mother." Clint whispered, hugging her tightly. She had Natasha's dancer build but he could already tell she was stubborn like he was.

"What did you name her?" Steve asked, looking at the young woman in Clint's arms gently.

"Illyana." Clint told him.

"I hope ya don't mind _mon ami_ but we been calling her Ivana." A red haired man with red and black eyes stepped into the kitchen. His hand rested on Ororo's hip gently.

"_Tant qu'il a garde son coffree-fort Remy." _(As long as it has kept her safe Remy.) Clint told him in the other man's native tongue.

Remy LeBeau smiled and offered Clint his hand. He couldn't pull the other man into an embrace so instead they looked into each others strange eyes. There was a certain bond that had formed between them over Clint's daughter who Remy had raised.

"What did the sonogram say Ororo?" Zachery asked.

"We will be adding another woman to the family." Ororo told him as she pulled off her jacket. Clint could now see the baby bump and Tasha put her hand gently on the other woman's stomach. Ivana turned in her father's arms to watch her mothers interact.

"Congratulations brother." Clint told Remy.

"Stormy been more excited than anyone." Remy admitted. There was no mistaking the excitement in his eyes though.

"It's her first. She's supposed to be Gambit." Tasha told the Cajun


	8. Show The Wind How To Fly

Show The Wind How To Fly

**_Author: Title taken Bon Jovi song Have a Nice Day. Only characters I own are Zachery & Illyana. Ty to all my reveiwers,  
favs & followers. I currently had a hyper little chihuahua (named Daryl Dixon) next to me chewing on a plastic bone. He  
doesn't quite understand that one day he will be biting all the zombies ankles so mommy can kill them. Enjoy. _**

"You have some explaining to do. Both of you." Clint said, pointing first at Storm then Gambit.

"Well when a man and a woman... wait you have a kid. You should know how that works." Tony said, shooting a smirk at Clint.

"Stark I will shove an arrow up your ass if you don't shut." Clint warned playfully.

"I didn't now you were so kinky. Did you?" Stark asked, glancing at Tasha.

"I don't want to hear anymore please." Illyana protested.

"And we are in public people." Steve agreed. After everyone was introduced, they had all agreed that it was time for dinner. Which was why they were all now sitting on the patio of local steakhouse. Tony, Gambit, Clint, Zachery, Steve and Thor had all had a few beers. The first three were getting more playful and exchanging all sorts of jokes. The alcohol however was not having any effect on Zach, Steve or Thor.

"Order another round and we tell." Gambit smirked.

"I've got it." Tasha said, getting up. Clint tilted his head to watch her go.

"Thanks." he said as she kissed his cheek.

"You need to shave." she called as she headed inside.

"Really?" he asked, running a hand over his jawline. There was a little bit of stubble but he supposed it was just enough to be noticable.

"I like you clean shaven." Tasha told him when she came back out.

"So?" Zachery asked looking at Gambit and Storm.

"We actually have Phil to thank for our being here." Storm admitted. A spark of pain shot through everyone and Illyana sniffled. Gently Bruce reached over, touching her shoulder. She didn't flinch from him the way everyone else tended to but she also didn't know about the "Other Guy." Tasha looked at Bruce with a raised eyebrow and he pulled his hand away.

"Shh mon petite. He was a good man." Gambit told Illyana.

"He used to visit the manor quite often while we lived there. However two years ago a group called Friends of Humanity attacked while many our wayward team mates were returning to visit the Proffesor on his birthday. We suffered many loses that day. Psylocke, Havok, Magma, Marrow and many of her Morlocks who came to our aid. Piotr." Storm said.

"Oh no Piotr." Tasha whispered. She and the Russian mutant had only met once or twice but they had still gotten along well. Clint gently hugged her as a waitress came out with the next round of drinks.

"To fallen comrades." Steve said, lifting his beer above the center of the the table. It was echoed all around the table and the air was soon full of the sound of clinking glass.

"We'd have lost Rogue too if not fer Logan." Gambit admitted.

"Shame his healing ability couldn't have saved more." Tasha sighed.

"His blood saved many of us. Myself including. But yes sadly there are too many new gravestones in the cemetary on the property. Shortly afterwards Phil decided that the manor was no longer safe, as was to be expected since he was her godfather. After we buried our dead he told us of Zachery." Storm said, glancing at Zachery.

"I had just opened the store about a month before Phil came by. I wasn't planning to make my new place a safe house but he said your baby was involved so... there was no way I could say no." Zachery smiled.

"And for that we are grateful." Clint said, touching his beer to Zachery's . Tasha leaned over to do the same. The trio shared a look full of warmth, trust, friendship and love.

"Me and 'ro were datin' fer 'bout two years 'fore the attack. We come out here, move into the apartment 'bove the store, get married and then we decide to have a baby." Gambit said.

"How long have you two been talking care of Illyana?" Steve asked Storm and Gambit.

"How old was she when your brought her to the manor?" Storm asked Clint.

"About four months or so." Clint said.

"Roughly five years and eight months." Storm said.

"But how? She looks like she's in her late teens. Maybe early twenties." Steve said, staring at her for a moment before he dropped his gaze, remembering he had been taught not to stare.

"When I was young I was injected with the Russian equivalent of the Super Soldier Serum. It also effected her through me. While it was meant to stop my aging at a point, it sped her aging up after she was born. But the time she was four months old she looked seven years old. When did she stop aging?" Tasha explained, turning her gaze to Gambit.

"Maybe year and a half ago." Gambit said.

"So she aged abnormally quickly after birth and can change her form at will?" Bruce asked.

"Except for my birthmark." Illyana told him.

"Well Spider Lady and Katniss you two have a very interesting kid." Tony said.

"Flirt with her and you die." Clint and Tasha both warned him.

**_Author: don't think StormXGambit is cannon but I don't care! _**


	9. Another Bad Day

Another Bad Day

**_Author: It's been so long since I updated this. Strange  
little bit that popped into my head. And finally I have  
decided to embrace what is cannon for Clint (in comics at  
least): that he is deaf. Never been able to find out the level  
of hearing lose he suffers from. I own Illyana & Zachery only._**

There were several things Illyana remembered about her parents from when she was younger. She remembered that her mother always wore a sweet smelling perfume (honeysuckle? She had never been able to figure that out) but no makeup when it had been just the three of them in that little house in Romania. She remembered that her father had always hunted for them and hunted well. She remembered that her mother would worry when he was gone for more than three days. She remembered that her father always smelled like the woods and wild things. She remembered that they could all sit for hours in their little house in silence. That silence had never been uncomfortable between them.

But that silence that had settled over her father was heavy and it scared her.

"Daddy?" she whispered. No response... of course. Carefully she stepped out onto her uncle Zachery's upstairs patio, making sure her father knew she was there. Sitting outside, off in his own little world the way he was, it was not a good idea to sneak up on him.

Clint snuffed out his cigarette and took a sip of his coffee when he felt his daughter walk up behind him. "Hey sweetheart." he said, reaching back to hug her.

Illyana relaxed against his back for a moment before she sat down beside him. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Just having a bad day." he told her, running his thumb over the back of her hand gently. His eyes never left her face and she realized why he seemed off today.

"Daddy where are your aides?" she asked, touching the side of his face to make him turn his head so she could confirm that he wasn't wearing them.

"Upstairs. They're not helping me today." he told her.

"Can you hear? At all?" she asked softly.

"No." he admitted softly, taking another drink of coffee.

Illyana got up and hugged him tightly. Her fingers worked against his back, signing two words: I'm sorry. Her first language had not been a verbal one. It had been one of looks, actions and body language: the unspoken language her parents had developed. Her second language had been american sign language, mostly used to communicate with her father. She had not spoken a word aloud until she was two months old but looked three years old. One day while her father while out on a hunt, she had asked her mother when he would be back in perfect Russian. It had shocked her mother but had made her father howl in laughter after he got home. They thought she was mute for a little while before that.

Since being left with the X-Men (Xavier had owed her mother a favor it seemed) Illyana had forgotten something about her parents. How her mother glanced over her shoulder at times to make sure her father was still nearby. How her father could sink away in his head for hours on end with no warning at all. How her mother worried when he did. And how her father would always make it up to her somehow.

One things she had never forgotten: her father was mostly deaf. All thanks to her paternal grandfather, an abusive drunk, who had boxed her father's ears when he was three. It had partially ruptured her eardrums... according to her godfather at least.

Of course some people didn't know this about her father. The family tried to keep it under wraps. But when his hearing was next to non-existant... those were his bad days.

And unfortunately... his bad days were getting to be more and more frequent


	10. Tonight We Can Pretend

The Hawk and His Daughter/Tonight We Can Pretend

**_Author: set the night of the last chapter. Lots of cuteness because there just is not enough of Hawkeye being  
a daddy. I own Zachery & Illyana. And the backstory that goes with all of this. And unless I can come up with  
more: I think I'm done. If there's anything people would like addressed maybe, let me know via review? And to  
my anonymus reviewer who commented on my mistranslation in the french conversation between Gambit & Clint:  
I use Google Translate so it did the translating for me. My french sucks so I figured it wouldn't be perfectly accurate.  
_**

She looked twenty but she was really only six years old. Six years and three weeks old to exactly. And like any child, she craved her parent's attention and comfort. But she was her daddy's baby, had been since the first time he had held her and she had looked up at him with big, inquisitive eyes. Natasha had never minded that Illyana spent more time with Clint. He needed the reassurance that someone cared for him more than she did. And everytime she saw her husband and their daughter together it send waves of warmth surging through her... something that seldom happened otherwise.

Clint felt his daughter's head lift from his chest and he opened his eyes. Like her mother, she had always been most comfortable curled up beside him with her head on his chest or stomach. Which was were she had settled down to watch the movie. Speaking of... He glanced over at the tv and cocked an eyebrow at the credit's rolling over the screen. He had dozed off watching Zachery's copy of Queen of the Damned... what the hell. Movement caught his attention and he turned his head in time to see his daughter get off the couch. "Where you going Illy?" he asked, using his pet name for her.

"To bed. Will you come tuck me in?" she asked, making sure he could read her lips. He never had put his aides back in.

Clint lay on the couch for a moment, letting his sleep fogged brain process her request. It had been years since anyone had asked that of him. But... he couldn't deny that request. "Yeah. Just come give your old man a hand up." he told her.

"You're not that old." she signed after pulling him to his feet.

"I'm fourty three." he reminded her.

"Momma, Phil and Uncle Zachery never told me. I thought you were in your thirties." she admitted, looking up at him as a blush stained her face and neck.

"Hey if you say I look thirty something, I'll take it as a compliment. Go say good night to your momma, aunt and uncles." Clint laughed, giving a nudge towards the dining table where Tasha, Zachery, Tony and Gambit sat playing poker. Storm was sitting beside Gambit, counting the stack of money beside her husband. Clint could just see Steve and Thor out on the balcony. The soldier and god had become somewhat close friends since they were both very out of place in the world. Banner was probably down in Zachery's store, huddled in a corner with his nose in a book. Everyone was okay with that... provided the "other guy" didn't decide to come out and play.

"Going to bed?" Zachery asked, looking up at Clint.

"She is. I'm just gonna go tuck her in. Then I'll probably come back down to play a few hands. If Remy hasn't taken everyone's money by that point." Clint smirked.

Remy looked over his shoulder and said, "Ya should come play mon ami. Beside Tasha, you the only one Gambit can't read."

"Maybe later. Let me get my girl down for the night and I'll see how awake I am after." Clint to him. It had taken his mind a moment longer than usual to process what the cajun had said. His heavy accent and strange way of speaking was confusing at times.

"Did you doze off?" Tasha asked, noting the sleepy look in her husband's eyes and the disleveled state of his hair.

"Nope. Just went for the teeth of the dog that bit me in my dreams the other night." he chuckled. Tony started coughing, having made the mistake of taking a drink of his beer at the same time that he had laughed.

Storm rose to her feet, setting a hand gently on her stomach as she did. Her movement caught Clint's attention and he swung his head towards her. She hadn't changed since they had met fifteen years ago in Morocco. He had... so much so that when she saw him again when they went to Xavier's Mansion to place Illyana in the old man's care, she didn't reconize him. Not until about six months later when she met Coulson and had asked about him. "Rest Clint. No harm will come to your or your daughter." Storm said, gently touching his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned against her hand a little bit. Fifteen years ago he had lusted after her... all but begged to have her in his bed for just one night. Now... she was more like a sister to him. A drop death gorgeous sister but a sister none the less.

"I swear you have more charm than your husband." he sighed, opening his eyes to look up at her.

"Come on daddy." Illyana signed against his arm before she kissed Storm on the cheek. "Night Aunt Stormy." she said.

"Good night child." Storm whispered, moving her hand to mess up Clint's hair gently.

"Let's go." Clint yawned, sliding an arm around his daughter's waist. He didn't realize how exhausted he was until now.

"I took the room highest up in the house. Best view." Illyana told him, glancing over her shoulder on the stairs so he could read her lips.

"Of course you did." Clint yawned. There was nothing mocking in his tone though. Illyana had inherited his habit of seeking out high places and hiding out in those places for hours to watch the world go by. Thankfully she had not inherited his depression, mood swings and tendancy to be anti-social. Or so Zachery had told him.

After changing into pajamas and settling for the night, Illyana curled up beside her father. Or rather he curled up beside her: on his side, on top of her blankets and an arm draped protectively around her waist. He was exhausted she could tell by the way he so easily relaxed once he had laid down and by the glassy look in his eyes. Gently she brought a hand up and passed it over his eyes, encouraging him to close them. "Go to sleep daddy." she whispered, even though he couldn't hear her. The arm around her waist drew her closer to him and soon enough she was asleep too.

Half an hour later, Tasha opened the door to her daughter's room and smiled at what she saw. Her husband and their daughter, fast asleep. It not a strange sight, not when she remembered that ever since Illyana was born Clint would lay on their bed in the house in Romania or on their little couch with her on his chest. It had been a sight she had missed though. Seeing them so comfortable, so relaxed... it almost fooled her into forgetting about the fact that they both used to be proffesional assassions and more recently: agents of SHIELD. Now they were Avengers. Clint's hunting knife and Baretta on Illyana's beside table glittered omniously in the moonlight leaking into the room, a grim reminder of the lives they lead. There would always be someone with an axe to grind, always some danger to them, to their strange little family. But for tonight: she could pretend that none of them had blood on their hands. That none of them had red in their ledgers. For tonight: she could pretend they were a normal family.

Whatever the hell normal meant anymore.


End file.
